Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-10-01
DOWN IN THE SWAMP
\ TALK WITH AN OLD HIDE AND
 LEATHER DEALER.
Varieties of Hides Brought to New Yorh City-A Bale of White Mud from India Pests of the Trade-Russia Leather, Imported and Home Made.

II
 Pests of the rr.de-Rus.ia Leather.
 Imported and Home Made
 "Come into the hide house" said MT. Mel Horton. as he led the way into e vsry | spacious receiving room for untanned hides down in the swamp" where the | leather men most do eOngregate. Hun ! dreds and thousands of hides were there, | but the oio-s of ''ArRby ths Blest" were | Efar off
 Nearly 100 varieties of hides come into this city. By varieties l mean skins from | different countries or localities. The man. ner Of curing the form of package, the ! quality of the grain-all these are differ. ! ent. \ good judge will tell at a glance whence the hides come Some of them are 50 expert that they caa tell you not only the country which produces tho hides, but where there are several ship ping points on the same river, like fhe Para in South America, they can at 6 glance locate the point fron which the SOOds were shipped. Europe, Africa, Asa, Australia, North, Central and Soutt America all contribute to the leather supply of the United States.
 Any time that you see bale of white mud carted about town you may under stand that the heather HindOO of eastern India has sent over lots of mud and small amount of leather making material. You sec the hides are daubed with Q mix ture of clay and lime, called chuenam, to keep the insects out. There are fifty hides in bale, and the purchaser expects them to average thirty pounds. We'll, they always do. Mud is cheap out there and She honest Hindoo Is absolutely careless O. the amount used SO long as the proper average Is obtained Why, have seen 6 chunk of chuenam as big as a table in one of these bales.
 Those hides" pointing to & heap, ''ars Texans. They are very large, you ob serve, and are dried over a bush, a fence, almost anything in fact Ten of then will make a load as big as a ton of looss hay. These hides here we call the BOgota book, owing to their place of origin ane the form of package. See, the hides art folded book like and are about the size ol the EOydeR plates. The hides from Mon tevideo and other South American points are usually folded so that they are about nine feet long and two feet wide. You can pick out the OrinOco hides, though, readily. They are a little wider, not quite so long, and are full of holes along the border made by the stakes which held them t0 the sand while drying
 ''Now look at these hides. They are genuine buffalo skins from India. No not the American bison, but the real buffalo of the naturalsts. They make the cheapest quality of leather, but stin very useful Their grain, you know, is the longest; hence their great utility for counters and insOleS in boots and shoes We'll, we turn out over l00,0 of them annually alone, and there are others whc manufacture the leather in considerable quantities.
 'sThe greatest obstacle .o overcome in preparing the hides and shipping them al. most around the world to New York is the insects. Various methods are employed to destroy or frustrate these pests The chuenam method have explained to you. It's hard to tell which is the more ob- tectionable, the bugs or the mud The South African hides are what we call . dry cure. They are rendered very dry by long exposure to the sun before shipping In that condition they resist the attack of Insects very well. But tho most success ful method. and that most widely used, is in dipping the hide in a solution of arsenic before drying. Tins solution Is both a preservative and an inseoticide. Tanners have good reason to prefer this style of cure. Hides so treated will weigh fully 50 per cent. more when tanned into leath- CT, while the chuenam hides lose from lC to lj per cent in weight"
 "Where do you get the best hides'"
 "The only good hides come from the temperate zone or from regions sufficiently elevated to possess q similar climate. Healthy cattle there have thick, natural hair and skins of good grain. But in tho hot countries the hair Is very thin, and the grain of leather made from such hides is coarse and poor. On the other hand, in the cold regions, the hair becomes very fine, and so thick as to make 6 kind of fur. which also destroys the grain of the leather In the temperate zones the win ter hides are better than those taken in the summer. The grain of the leather IS then at its best"
 Leaving Frankfort street and the region of sole leather, the reporter sought a large manufacturer of fine feathers, a leading producer of the American "Rus- sia."
 What kinds of leather do you make'" queried the reporter.
 All of the finer kinds, including har- ness, enameled, colOred, Russia, and em- bossed leather for furniture and wall decoration"
 ''IIow does your Russia compare with the impOrtedy'
 What do you mean when you say Russia" Do you mean red leatheri That k what the average American seems to understand by the term. But, in answer tO your question, l caa truly say that our leather is better than the genuine Russia Why Because our tannAge Is better Let me show you"
 Two hides were brough.; the one in ported, the other home made Russia The reporter could detect no difference
 The difaIence is positive and in our favor" resumed the leather man, as he picked up the genuine Russia, folded it tightly, and vigorously rolled the fold be- tween finger and thumb. 'NOw look" said he, as he strengthened out the fold ''You see the surface is cracked and a wrinkle remains That is the weak point in this article which, by the way, Is of the best quality. It is imperfectly tanned and cOlOred. Now try this piece of oul manufacture. There is not the slightest abrasion of the surface, you observe, nor does any wrinkle indicate where the fold was. The color, too. is uninjured Gar leather is so much better tanned that it IS soft and pliable and stands wear much better"
 "The manner of producing this peculiar odor is kept profound secret, is 1t nots"
 Nonsense. Oil of spruce is the agent which gives the scent to the leather There is no secret about it. The only special knowledge required in the bust ness is tO know where to buy the best hides, how best to tan them, and how to sell tO best advantage
 "IiOw is this peculiar grain producedf'
 1.-The plain. cOlOred leather is placed upon a board which has specially pre- pared rough surface Elbow grease does the rest. The workman presses and rubs the leather with block until it conforms to the surface of the wood "-New York Sun.
 How to Boom.
 Every man can be boomer.